


Innocent Childhood

by blind_magdalene (reinedelutin)



Category: Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Genre: Childhood, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-08
Updated: 2010-09-08
Packaged: 2017-11-14 08:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/513345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reinedelutin/pseuds/blind_magdalene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part I of the Innocence Trilogy. Based on the portraits drawn by DA artist Lebzpel</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Steps

**Author's Note:**

> I did not draw the fan-pics that inspired this trilogy. The drawings belong to lebzpel.deviantart.com . I have her permission to write the stories behind the pictures.
> 
> The chapter titles are the pictures that the chapter is based off of.
> 
> http://lebzpel.deviantart.com/art/First-Steps-163973616 is the first chapter

Nathan recalled the first day that Shilo learned how to walk. It wasn't exactly the way most babies learned, considering the fact that he was scared to death that something would happen to her and she'd hurt herself.

He left her in her bassinet and he pulled out the bubble wrap that he had stuffed away for this purpose. He looked around the living room and grinned.

Fifteen minutes later he was upstairs picking Shilo up. He grinned down at her, sucking on her pacifier as she looked up at him. He realized suddenly, that if she fell on the bubble wrap, she could still hurt herself. His eyes narrowed onto her closet where the child protective pads were. Shilo's eyes widened when her father brought the head gear over first.

Nathan grinned in triumph as he looked around the bubble wrapped living room.

"Ok, that's it…all covered." He looked over at Shilo, who he sat on the bubble-wrapped floor in preparation.

"Well, Shi. Let's try now that everything is nice and safe." He looked at her with pride in his eyes, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with the unnatural position of her arms sticking straight out from her body because of the

"C'mon, get up and walk! You can do it, precious! Walk for Daddy!" He said encouraging, not looking away from his precious daughter.

*suck suck* was the noise that Shilo made back at him as she sucked on her pacifier. Shilo glared at him as much as she could in her little two year old self. He stared at her as she stared back at him from her seat on the floor. She sighed and struggled as she pulled herself up. She stood and glared at him, only standing so he'd take the uncomfortable stuff off of her. She took a few steps, wobbled, and then fell. Immediately Nathan was there, picking her up as he congratulated her in her first steps.


	2. Bug Catching and Piggy Rides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I of the Innocence Trilogy. Based on the portraits drawn by DA artist Lebzpel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://lebzpel.deviantart.com/art/Bug-Catching-and-Piggy-Rides-156646002

Nathan wiped his glasses as he sat in the lawn chair. He watched as his little Shilo ran around the yard chasing bugs. He smiled, closing his eyes and tilting his head back, feeling the rare sun on his face. It had been years since the sun had last shown its rays through the smog, and Nathan lost no time in bringing Shi out to enjoy this rare joy.

"Ha! Come on!" Little Shi called out and Nathan looked down at her, a little taller than the middle of his thighs. He stood, picking her up as he did and she squealed in delight, putting her small arms around his throat immediately. He kissed the top of her head then went towards the center of their yard.

"What are we hunting today, Shi?" He murmured before dropping a kiss onto the crown of her head. She twisted her small body in his arms so she could point at the butterfly flying at the level of his head nearby.

He grinned mischievously for a second before placing her on the ground long enough to adjust her position before placing her on his shoulders. She squealed again to his delight, hugging his head until she was steady. She let go of his head and reached out for the butterfly as it passed them. He held her by the legs to him as he chased after the bug to the little four-year-old's pleasure. Father and daughter laughed as Shilo barely missed catching the butterfly as it flew too high for their combined reach.

Nathan came to a sudden halt, startling her enough to grab his head before he reached up and pulled her down as he fell to the ground, both of them laughing. He pulled her to his chest as they both looked up into the sunlight.

"I love you Daddy." Shilo said, leaning up to give him a little peck on the cheek before settling on his chest. He smiled down at her and sighed happily.

"I love you to, Shi." He said, hugging her as he looked up. He swallowed heavily. He wished more than anything that her mother Marni was with them at this moment.


	3. Duerme, Duerme y Suena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I of the Innocence Trilogy. Based on the portraits drawn by DA artist Lebzpel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://lebzpel.deviantart.com/art/Duerme-Duerme-y-Suena-164198928

Nathan laughed softly as he perched against the piano in Shilo's room. She just ran to find a book so she could show him the description of a bug she found outside in ht sunlight earlier. She ran up to him, grinning widely as she offered him the book in her little pudgy hands.

Nathan took the book in one hand and picked her up across her stomach with his other, tossing her playfully (and safely) onto her bed. She squealed and moved over as he adjusted himself so he was sitting against the headboard. She snuggled into his lap as he opened the book to her mark.

"The Butterfly." He said in his calm voice. He hadn't noticed until he was halfway through the description that Shilo had fallen asleep snuggled against his chest, her legs crossing his lap, his hand supporting her back and another on her knee.

He smiled down at her softly, then closed the book, putting it on the nightstand. He smiled and closed his eyes, tipping his head so it rested on his precious Shilo's.

Marni's eyes pierced into their forms from the portrait as they slept on.


	4. Phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I of the Innocence Trilogy. Based on the portraits drawn by DA artist Lebzpel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://lebzpel.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2rry4y

Seven years old already, Nathan thought as he made coffee in the kitchen. Shilo sat at the table in her little schoolgirl uniform as she ate her cereal. Nathan took his cup and sat across from her. She grinned up at him and he smiled back. Looking at the newspaper before him, he realized it was the day before Halloween. He smiled, Shilo loved Halloween. Every year since she was three, he dressed her up and they would have pumpkin pie (his mother's recipe), and a little bit of candy. He shook the paper and cleared his throat. Shilo looked up at him.

"What do you want to do today, Shi?" She tilted her head like her mother used to, then grinned.

"I wanna play Operator!" Nathan raised an eyebrow.

"You mean Operation?" Shilo frowned at him then shook her head.

"No! I wanna play Operator!" Nathan closed his eyes and took a breath to stop himself from laughing, knowing it would hurt her feelings though it wasn't his intention. He hadn't played Operator since he was a kid, and it was in his treehouse with Mag. He smiled at Shilo, opening his eyes again, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"Okay Shilo. Finish your cereal and we'll play operator." She clapped and grinned.

"Yay! Operator!" She went back to her cereal with fervor. Nathan smiled as he finished his cup of coffee. He took the newspaper with him as he went over to the garbage can. He grabbed the two empty tins of peas from the top from dinner the night before, and took it to the sink to rinse with antibacterial soap galore. He may let it near Shilo, but not without disinfecting and scouring it clean first, so there was no chance of infection or anything remotely dangerous going near his precious girl.

He lost track of time as he cleaned the cans, until he felt a tug at his pants. Up to his elbows in the soapy sink, he turned his head to his side to see Shilo pulling at his pant leg for his attention with an eager look in her eye that reminded Nathan sharply of his mother. His eyes unfocused as he thought of his dear mum, who died with his father before the Organ Epidemic hit. His mother always coddled him and his father adored him. He had been spoiled rotten, and was encouraged toward his job as a doctor, then a SurGEN after their death and the Organ Epidemic. He shook his head softly and then pulled the stopper out of the sink, rinsing the tins and dried them and his hands on a towel. Shilo was jumping up and down in excitement as she held up a long piece of string. He shook his head, smiling as he pulled her to his side so she'd stop jumping. He led her to the living room and sat on the ground with the tins and string and the tape he grabbed on the way in. She jumped down next to him and helped him tape an end of the string to the inside of each can. Then she stood up and stepped away from him as he stretched himself out on the rug, the tin can next to his ear.

"Daddy?" He looked at her, her hands on her hips as she mock-scowled. He tilted his head to the left, smiling at her.

"Yes, Precious?" She made a noise of frustration, stomping as she scowled.

"Call the Operator!" She pouted. He smiled up at her then turned to look up at Marni's portrait over the virtual fireplace.

"Ring ring." He said through the tin can. "Ring ring." He waited.

"Operator." Shilo giggled as she tried to keep a straight face.

"Yes? How can I direk your call?" Nathan smiled as she laughed.

"Precious, it's direct, not direk." She shook her head and pulled the tin away from her ear, scowling.

"The Caller doesn't correct me! My Daddy does!" She humphed and put the 'phone' back to her ear. He smiled up at her little cherub face.

"I'd like to call the ice cream parlor, because I'm going to buy them out for my daughter." Shilo couldn't contain her squeal.

"Can I please, daddy?" He nodded and watched as the tin fell out of her hand to the ground, and she ran to the kitchen. He only let Shilo have ice cream on occasion. When he reached the kitchen, she was standing obediently at the freezer, waiting for him to pull out the carton of chocolate chip cookie dough, her favorite. He opened the freezer and grabbed it out, and two bowls on the way to the counter. He opened a drawer and pulled out two spoons and an ice cream scooper as he started to meticulously dish them some ice cream. Nathan couldn't help but smile as he watched his little girl enjoy her ice cream as much as her mother did.


	5. Pirate Nate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part I of the Innocence Trilogy. Based on the portraits drawn by DA artist Lebzpel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://lebzpel.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2rc8h0

Growing up, Halloween had always been Nathan's favorite holiday. He loved to pretend to be a doctor, or the Prime Minister. However, his favorite costume had been the pirate, to his parent's horror. The only part of the costume that he had left of the costume was the eye patch. He smiled as he looked down at the eye patch up in the attic. Shilo was trying on her mother's old costumes and had settled on her mother's ice skating suit from when she was in elementary school. Shilo came up to Nathan and pointed at the thing in his hands.

"What's that?" Her head tilted as she tried to look at the small piece of black leather with the leather string tying it into a circle. Nathan smiled and turned his back to her, putting the patch over his left eye. He turned around with a snarl, scaring Shilo.

"Arrrgh! I'm a pirate!" He growled and she giggled after she jumped a foot into the air. He smiled into the mirror placed conveniently next to the trunk of costumes at his reflection. He supposed he did look menacing, with the black patch, and a black jacket over his black shirt and black pants on. He suddenly turned on Shilo and picked her up over his shoulder and ran down the stairs, her squeals of laughter following them. He took her to her room and fell on her bed, her following over his shoulder. They just sat there, and then she started fidgeting until he started tickling her. She laughed and tried to get away, and he finally relented. He rolled over until he laid on his side looking at her, who was looking up at the ceiling, smiling.

He wasn't sure if he could go through with it. He had been homeschooling her for the last few years, but she was getting restless. He didn't want her going into that accursed place,school. They would just make fun of her there, and degrade her, and make her become someone she wouldn't want to be. So, he made the 'medicine' that he would convince her that she needed to take, even if it had side effects that he wished were not necessary. She would lose the beautiful hair of her mother, but he already prepared for that. He already finished the wig Shilo would use made from her mother's hair. He didn't think that this was going extreme, he had to protect her from the outside world, and if this was how, then by God, he would imprison her in her own home to accomplish it.

Shilo looked over and noticed her daddy looking at her strangely.

"Whatcha thinking about?" She asked, reaching out with both hands and, in her little girl way, tried to flatten the worry lines on his face. He smiled at her and put his hands over hers, kissing the palms and putting them over his heart.

"How much I love you, Shilo." She grinned over at him.

"I love you too, Daddy." She kissed him on the cheek. She smiled at him and suddenly jumped to her feet.

"I wanna carve the pupkin!" He chuckled as he sat upright.

"Pumpkin." She frowned up at him and stomped her foot.

"I don't like that name!" He laughed silently, trying not to upset her further.

"No, you want to carve the pumpkin, not the pupkin." She frowned, thinking quickly, then nodded fervently.

"That's what I meant." She ran out of the room and he stood up. He looked up at the portrait of her mother as he did every day, but this time it felt like she was judging him and what he planned to do.

"I've got to protect her, Marni." He looked away, shamed. "I've got to." He muttered to himself. He shook his head and went to the kitchen after Shilo.


End file.
